//------------------------------// // Chapter 41: Back into the Depths // Story: Fire and Steel // by shirotora //------------------------------// Ember didn't rush. She wasn't going to bother wasting energy trying to get to the ruins first. She was rather surprised to hear that many dragons already knew about the ruins. None of the younger ones seemed to know, though. Probably to keep them from killing themselves. She let the older dragons lead the way as she hung back with the other younger ones. "So, this the same ruins you and Luke went to?" Ember startled at the sudden voice. She glared at the dragon that pulled up beside her. "What are you doing here?!" Smolder shrugged. "What, you think I'm going to miss out on this? I already missed the last fight because I was chained to a rock. Besides, I don't really want to win. I just want to have fun, maybe help you out." Ember sighed. "Fine, but stay out of my way. I don't want to deal with dragons saying I cheated because we worked together." Smolder raised an eyebrow. "Dragons cheat all the time. It's part of our culture." "That's part of the culture I'm trying to change," Ember reminded. "Ah, so you don't want to start your rule with something you're trying to get rid of," Smolder summed up. "Exactly. Besides, I don’t want any losers thinking I couldn’t do it without your help," Ember said, watching the ground for anything she could recognize from their walk home. Ultimately, she gave up. Everything looked different from above. Smolder shrugged. "Fine, but I'm still coming with you. I'll just watch, and not help." Ember rolled her eyes. She knew that was as good as she was going to get. "Fine, but you better stay back." “That’s the plan,” Smolder said. The two flew on for some time. They searched in ever widening arcs, scanning the forest for any sign of the old ruins. Eventually, Ember spotted something. An old, white marble pillar. Ember swooped down to land, studying the rest of the area. She spotted another, and another soon after that, until she stumbled across a marble floor... or, rather, roof. “Ah! Found it!” Ember cheered as she leaped down from the edge to the place she and Luke emerged. “Woah,” Smolder said. “This place is definitely ancient.” “Yeah, no kidding,” Ember agreed. “It’s even older than Star.” Smolder chuckled at that. “And that says a lot. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get going, already.” Ember glared at the younger dragon. “This isn’t a game, you know.” “I know. It’s a show, remember,” Smolder replied with a cocky grin. Ember groaned and facepalmed. “Whatever. Just keep up. And remember, only kill things if they’re coming for you.” Smolder chuckled. “I know.” With that the pair walked into the ancient ruins. Ember was immediately hit with bits of nostalgia, seeing the signs of her and Luke’s harried escape. It was the moment she really started seeing Luke as she did. Heck, that might have been when she started falling for him. “So, where to?” Smolder asked. The question brought her up short as she realised something. “I... don’t know. When we were here, we were just running for our lives. I wasn’t really paying attention to where we were going.” “So, I guess you just pick a path, then?” Smolder ventured. Ember shrugged. “I guess so.” Ember glanced at the side passages and shook her head. She remembered running straight to get to the exit, so she knew it wasn’t them. That left the two at the back of the room. She glanced down one, then the other, trying to see if anything stood out. Unfortunately, neither looked familiar, and both were in similar states. That meant she would have to just choose and hope it was the right way. “Let’s try this one,” Ember said, starting down the right path. They didn’t have to go far before Ember noticed a scorch mark on the wall. Now confident she chose the right way, she continued on. “Hey, aren’t we going to check these doors?” Smolder asked, looking around. “They’re all closed,” Ember pointed out. “We didn’t close any on our way out, and I very much doubt the bugs did.” “Oh... right,” Smolder said, a bit embarrassed for not thinking about that. “Hey, maybe after we’re done, you, me, and Luke can come back here and explore!” “Sure, maybe,” Ember said. “We’d have to make sure the bugs aren’t a problem, though.” Smolder looked around, listening for any sounds. “Yeah, about that... Where are they? The bugs, I mean. Did you guys kill all of them last time you were here?” Ember snorted in amusement. “Not even close. Heck, I doubt we even made a dent in their numbers. The only reason we survived was because so few were willing to go out into the sun.” “Are they really that dangerous?” Smolder asked. “Well, they were, but that was because I didn’t really know how to use my magic,” Ember explained. “I was just fumbling around, and Luke only knew his regular aura sphere, which isn’t very good against hordes like that. I can handle them this time, if they try anything.” “But, where are they?” Smolder asked. Ember thought back. “It took them awhile for them to find us last time, too, so they’ll probably be coming a bit later. Hopefully after we found Aurora’s remains.” The trip had been fairly straight forward, mostly. They only came across one intersection with more than one way to go, but luck was on their side as Ember chose the right path, again. Eventually, they came across a familiar chamber. “This is where they attacked us last time,” Ember said, cautiously stepping into the room. “Be on guard, and remember, don’t help me. Only protect yourself.” “I know, I know,” Smolder said, rolling her eyes. “Even though we could just say I didn’t help. Not like anydagon would know.” “I would,” Ember said. “Now, be quiet, at least until we get the remains.” “Or a horde of hungry insects is chasing us,” Smolder added. “Or that.” Luckily, this was a room she was able to see before running for her life. Therefore, it didn’t take too much to remember which way she and Luke had come from. They were about halfway across when she heard an all too familiar chittering. Ember groaned. “So much for gathering the remains in peace. Let’s hurry.” The pair picked up the pace as the first of the bugs emerged. Ember noticed it even came from the same hallway as the last time. That must be where their nest is, she noted. Now we know where to go if we want to wipe them out. More importantly, Ember realized, that made it easier to delay them. She contemplated collapsing the ceiling in front of that hallway, but that could cause a bigger cave in. So, instead, she just waved a claw and called on her magic as she breathed a gout of flame. She weaved the flame into a wall, covering the hallway. The few that entered the room before were quickly dealt with. A single volley of magic missiles was all it took for them. “Come on,” Ember urged. “That won’t last forever. I give it ten minutes before the spell fails.” “Got it,” Smolder said, following Ember down the next hall. Ember was relieved to actually know where to go. Sure, it wasn’t hard to find her way back to familiar territory, but she no longer had the nagging worry that she had taken a wrong turn and gotten them lost. Soon enough, they came to a familiar room. Ember went inside first, wary of any surprises. “Woah,” Smolder said as she walked in, looking at the large spell circle dominating the room. “So, this is where it started, huh?” Ember nodded. “That’s right. And this is the one who started it.” She gestured to the dragon skeleton, still lying on the floor where they left her. “This is the last Empress, huh?” Smolder asked. Ember shook her head. “No. She won’t be.” Smolder smirked. “Nice dramatic comeback, there, but I meant ‘last’ as in ‘previous’.” Ember paused for a second, trying to come up with a retort, but failed and just said, “Shut up.” She held out her claw as ribbons of magic extended. They snaked out, wrapping around the ancient bones and holding them gently in a cocoon that raised up to hover a few feet away from Ember. “Alright. I’m pretty sure the fire wall is about to fail,” Ember said. “Let’s hurry.” “Right!” They started running back the way they came, hoping to reach the next room before the spell keeping the bugs away failed. Unfortunately, Ember felt her connection to the spell collapse long before they got there, and a surge of chittering filled the air. “Here they come!” Ember announced. Ember took a deep breath and spat out a condensed bead of fire that shot through the air like an arrow at the distant churning of figures. The mote blossomed into a massive fireball, consuming the vanguard. Another, and another mote of fire followed, but the tide of creepy crawlies kept on coming. “We’re gonna have to rush them!” Ember shouted. “Screw this, I got’em,” Smolder said, rushing ahead. Before Ember could say anything, Smolder burst into flames. The younger dragon rushed down the hall, her flaming body engulfing anything and everything even remotely flammable, leaving a trail of fire in her wake. Ember growled, running after her. “I said no helping!” They burst into the next room just as Smolder’s spell ended. Ember leaped ahead of Smolder, unleashing a torrent of dragon fire. “I wasn’t helping, I was having fun,” Smolder said. “Just run,” Ember said as her flames opened a path. As soon as they got into the next hallway, Ember wove her breath into another fire wall behind them. “There,” Ember said, taking a moment to catch her breath. “That wasn’t so hard.” “Nah, it was easy,” Smolder agreed. Ember chuckled. “We aren’t out of this yet. Let’s go before the wall fails, again.” “Good idea.” The pair move through the ruins, toward the entrance. They didn’t run, but they did move quickly. Ember felt the fire wall fall a little more than halfway out and had to erect another, but other than that, they had no issues before finally coming to the exit. “Well, that was faster than I thought,” Smolder said as they stepped into the light. “So, you ready to become the next Dragon Lord?” “Why, yes I am,” said another voice. Ember and Smolder looked around to see them surrounded by a trio of much larger dragons. “I told you they knew where it was,” one of them said to another. Ember rolled her eyes as she monotonously droned, “Oh, look. An ambush. Whatever will I do?” “You’ll give us the bones or we’ll break yours,” the apparent leader said. “Two little pipsqueaks against three real dragons isn’t exactly a fair fight.” Smolder looked at Ember and said, “She’s right. This isn’t a fair fight.” With a flap of her wings, Smolder flew off to the side a ways and sat down. “There. Now it’s a little more fair.” The three older dragons gave each other confused looks, each unsure what to make of that.  “Wait, how is this more fair?” the leader asked. Ember cracked her neck and fingers. “Because now you only have one dragon sorceress mopping the floor with you instead of two.” “Dragon what now?” asked one of the flunkies. “Let me show you,” Ember said with a sadistic grin as she threw a fist toward the one that just spoke.  The others were stunned by the massive ethereal fist that slammed into their companion. They were too stunned to notice the crackling of electricity before it slammed into the other flunkie, launching them off their claws. The lead dragon looked at Ember with wide eyed terror. “Wh-what are you?” Ember grinned, raising a claw, crackling with arcane energy. “Your new Empress.” The spectating dragons looked on in awe as Ember landed before her father. A floating bundle followed before vanishing and depositing the bones of a long dead dragon before him. “Well, well, well,” Torch said. “What took you so long?” Ember shrugged. “A few idiots wanted to play.” Torch let out a laugh before calling, “Star! Identify these bones. Are they those of the last Empress?” Star stepped forward, taking up the skull and examining it. “Yes, this is most definitely the skull of Empress Aurora, last Empress of the dragons.” “Then it seems we have a winner!” Torch announced as he lifted the Bloodstone Scepter and sent out a pulse of magic. Within minutes, the other dragons started to arrive. In less than half an hour, the last stragglers limped through the air, three in particular giving Ember a wide berth. “Dragons! Hear me!” Torch shouted. “The Gauntlet of Fire is over! The remains of Empress Aurora have been delivered! All hail our new dragon lord, Ember!” A great cheer rose up from the crowd, filling the air, as Torch presented his daughter with the Bloodstone Scepter. Ember looked upon the ancient artifact with unfiltered awe. She had finally done it. She was finally taking the first step to achieving her dream. She reached out, reverently placing her claw on the scepter. The moment she did, an eruption of energy washed over every dragon there. Ember could feel the scepter’s power flooding her body. In that moment, she realized the scepter was so much more that she had ever thought. She took up the scepter and held it aloft, for all to see. “Through me, a new dragon empire shall rise,” Ember shouted, magically amplifying her voice. “I am not dragon lord. I am Ember, Empress of New Dragonia!”